Life's Tied to Traintracks
by Nilak Diederich
Summary: Ever wonder what Dorian was like as a human? Why and how he became a vampire? How he coped with being the Keeper of the Prophecy? This story follows Dorian's story from the age of 8 when he was taken from his parents until after he became the Keeper.1680s
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Dorian!" Little Dorian looked up. It was easy to see through the bars of his cage, but he had to squint through his tears. He could see his parents. His father had his back to Dorian, looking over his shoulder at him as he was being carted away. His father was also restraining his mother. "Dorian!" she cried again, arm outstretched to reach her son.

"Mom! Mom, Where are they taking me?" Dorian started crying harder. The carriage went around a corner and he could no longer see his mom. He looked at his surroundings. It just looked like bags of animal feed and boxes of canned goods. Dorian decided he was alone, so he backed into a corner and cried the hardest he'd ever cried. He eventually cried himself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dorian turned a corner, and his eyes grew wide. He was in a very large, cavernous, white room. In front of him were piles of more meat and bread and cheese than he had ever seen in his life, which when he though about it, could still be counted on two hands. In eight years, Dorian had never seen this much food. Where did it all come from? Who cares. Dorian went to the pile of steaks and fish and roast. He picked up a steak, his mouth watering, and was about to bite into it, when the carriage hit a bump and he was jarred from his dream

Dorian looked around himself. He sighed. He was back in the crowded cage surrounded by chicken feed. The carriage hit another bump, and Dorian hit his head off the ceiling of his cage. He tried to remember how he got here. Oh yeah. Now he remembered. His father had asked him to go on a walk with him. Dorian was elated, and said yes without hesitation. His father never seemed to like him, so when Dorian got the chance to show his father he loved him, he took it. But they weren't very far from their little house when some strange men stepped out of the shadows. Dorian had grabbed his fathers hand and had hidden behind him, but his father pushed him away and walked over to one of the men. Dorian turned in a circle. There were… four. Four of them. Was his dad going to take them all on? Was he going to fight them? But as his father was whispering to the one man, Dorian heard the name D'Ablo, Dorian's mom called his name. "Mom?" he had called back. He heard his dad say a bad word quietly, then said "Wait here" to the guy. He walked towards Dorian's mom's voice. Dorian heard his mom say that she wouldn't go back to the house, then he saw his mom come running around the corner. His father was right behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Dorian saw his father nod, and the four men closed in on him. He fought as hard as he could, but they shoved him into the cage he was in now.

There was another bump, but this time Dorian was expecting it, and he managed to avoid hitting his head. He wondered where he was going. What did they want with him? He'd never done anything wrong that he could think of… but now that he was thinking about it, he did steal a bit of meat from the market. Dorian started to panic. Were they taking him to jail for stealing the meat? Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea. "Hey! Hey! Excuse me!" he called. The carriage stopped, and Dorian watched as a man walked around the back to see what he wanted.

"What do you want?" the man. Dorian looked at him. He was wearing all dark colors, but he wasn't dirty, so he figured the guy had some money.

"I have to go pee." Dorian said. The guy raised his eyebrow, then chuckled.

"Hey, D'Ablo!" he called to one of the other men, probably the one in charge. "We have a smart one here! He wanted to go pee, but he was going to try to escape."

"Really?" A man in the front chuckled. Dorian figured it was D'Ablo.

"Yeah," the man that came to see what Dorian wanted walked back to the front and the carriage started up again. Well, Dorian thought, that didn't work like I'd hoped.

"Nothing will work as you hope it will, we'll make sure to that," one of the men said.

Dorian froze. How did they know what he thought? Fear struck Dorian. These people weren't normal, that was for sure. Then Dorian's stomach growled, and Dorian felt the familiar pang of hunger. Then he remembered all the feed bags around him and wondered if feed was okay for him to eat. Then he figured his life is pretty much over anyway, so he picked the closest bag, which was at the back of the cage, pressed up against it. Dorian bit the bag open (it took several tries) and the feed spilled into the cage. He picked up a pinch full and put it in his mouth. It tasted bland. A little like bread, but without a lot of flavor. His stomach growled again. Dorian scooped up handfuls of it and spilled them into his mouth. Soon his belly was content, but Dorian kept eating, because figured this might be his last meal.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey everyone, sorry about the ending of chapter 2. It wasn't supposed to end there, but somehow it did. Also, sorry for mistypes and such, I must have posted it before I re-read it.**_

_**And one more thing, if you can think of a better title, please share. Titles are not my forte.**_

Chapter 3

The carriage slowed down. Dorian panicked, not wanting to get in trouble for eating the feed, he sat if front of the hole and the mess he'd made. They came to a bumpy stop, and a guy, the same guy as before walked around to see Dorian. Dorian thought he'd covered up his mess pretty well, until the man spoke.

"Don't worry, you'll pay us back for the feed, in time. You aren't hungry anymore now. We were going to get you some meat," the man said, a sly smile on his face.

"Oh mister," Dorian said. "Please, could I have some meat?"

"Sure," the man's smile grew. "Anything to keep our little prize happy." He walked away, whistling a strange tune. Dorian was a little confused at what the man said, but he didn't think much about it. He thought it would be a couple of minutes, but it was hours. The sun had set, and the moon was high in the sky, a waxing crescent. Dorian thought himself pretty smart for an eight year old. He knew the moon phases in order. He knew that the bigger the moon, the longer it stays in the sky, until the moon was full. Then it stayed in the sky all night long. He also knew that as the moon got smaller you could see it in the daytime. Dorian liked looking at the sky. He didn't know how long he was looking at the moon when the man came back and startled him. He walked into view, laughing, and wiping something off his mouth. "Food is so much easier to find these days. Ever since the plague." he said, talking to one of the other men.

As he turned to face Dorian, he saw the moon glint off the man's teeth. The man's two very long teeth. Dorian was struck again by fear, and scooted to the back of his cage. It wasn't but a few inches, but it made him feel better. The man looked at Dorian, then smiled a big, cruel smile, his fangs still glinting in the moonlight. "Your meat, sir," he said sarcastically, bowing low and holding some meat out in front of him. Dorian looked closely at the meat. He noticed it was raw. And bloody. And very, very fresh. When the man stood back up, he tossed the meat into Dorian's cage. Dorian reached out, and just as he was about to touch the meat, the man leaned down very quickly and snapped his teeth right outside the cage. Dorian gasped and pulled his hand back as quickly as he could. The man stood up, laughing, and walked to the front of the carriage. Dorian heard the horse whinny, then they started moving again.

Dorian eyed the raw, bleeding meat in front of him. A thought crossed his mind that it was human, and the man had torn it right out of a person's leg. Dorian shivered, then ignored the thought. He decided to keep it for later, so he laid the meat on top of the pile of feed that had spilled out of the bag. This would soak up all the blood, and maybe preserve it. Dorian went back to looking at the moon. In his half asleep state, he had a crazy idea. The man had sent him the thought that he had ripped the meat out of a person's leg. He didn't know how, but Dorian was almost certain that's what happened. Then he fell asleep.

†

As Dorian dumped the waste out into the street, he marveled at how he worked his way up to this esteemed job. Dorian was now thirteen, and one of the oldest kids in the orphanage. "That is," he thought, "aside from Elizabet." Elizabet had just been dropped off a couple of weeks ago, and still had to do newbie chores, even though she was fifteen. Dorian walked back inside Sharpstone Orphanage, where he'd lived the past five years, ever since those men dropped him off here. As he tried to avoid thinking about it, he flashed back to that day.

Dorian was just about to start eating his meat when the carriage came to a stop outside a big, gray building. He didn't bite into the meat, just held it, as he saw a man come around the back of the carriage. "We're here," he had said, with a cruel smile. This man was different than the one who had come around last time. "Come on," he said as he unlocked the cage, "And don't try to run off, it won't work," he smiled again.

Dorian shrank away from him, but not necessarily in fear. "Don't worry," the man had said. "Uncle D'Ablo won't bite." but Dorian hadn't been so sure. The men had taken him into the orphanage and spoke some whispered words to the man in charge. The orphanage owner looked at Dorian, then turned back to D'Ablo and nodded. Then he'd walked over to Dorian as D'Ablo and his men had turned around and walked out.

"So, Dorian, this will be your new home," the man had said to Dorian. "My name is Mr. Conner. You will always address me by that name." Dorian had noted that the man was strict, but at the time, he hadn't known how strict.

Dorian was back in the present, and he set the waste bucket down, then washed his hands. He had to look nice today, a couple was coming to look at kids to adopt. After he finished, he walked to the boys dorm and put on his nicest clothes, the ones the orphanage gave to everyone for days such as this. The kids were required to keep these clothes very nice. As he was fixing his gray shirt and black trousers, one of the other boys ran in, breathless. "They're here! Dorian, hurry up!" Then he ran back out. Dorian finished up quickly, an electricity pulsing through his chest. He hurried down the stairs to the front room, where all of the older boys and girls were lined up, including Elizabet. He quickly made his way to the end of the line and took up his place. He'd been through a couple of these, most of them going the same way.

The couple came through a doorway, and gasped, their eyes on Dorian. He felt exhilarated, but stayed calm, not wanting to ruin his chance. The couple came closer, the woman leaning down to Dorian's height. "Well, aren't you cute!" she said, her eyes never leaving Dorian's. Her husband looked a little nervous being so close to him, and he confirmed Dorian's suspicions when he said "Honey, why don't we look at some of the others," and the couple continued down the line. When they were done looking at everyone, the woman glanced back at Dorian, then they went back through the doorway to talk to the Mr. Conner. No one would be going to a home today, but soon. Dorian knew someone would go to a home soon, and he was hoping it was him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dorian heard Mr. Conner ushering the couple out of the orphanage, wishing them a good day. Then Mr. Conner came into the front room where everyone was lined up. He seemed a little upset, considering his face was red and he was wringing his hands a little. He looked at Dorian, and Dorian could tell he was angry. "Don't you all have chores to do?" he said in a loud voice. "Don't forget to change!" he yelled as an afterthought. Like everyone would forget to change from their best clothing to go scrub the floor. Dorian was just turning to leave when Mr. Conner said "Not you, Dorian. Stay here a minute, I want to talk to you." Dorian slowly turned back around while everyone else around him scurried off to change.

"Yes Mr. Conner?" Mr. Conner flinched. He never seemed to like Dorian's voice. Then his anger returned.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want you scaring my clients!" Mr. Conner yelled. The clients hadn't seemed scared to Dorian, they actually seemed to like him. And Mr. Conner had never told Dorian this before, but Dorian didn't think much of it. Mr. Conner was a bit sporadic like that.

"Sorry Sir," Dorian said, waiting to hear what Mr. Conner was going to say. He must have a reason for acting strange. He didn't handle stressful situations very well. When he made eye contact with Dorian, and he saw fear in those eyes. _Is he afraid of me?_ Dorian thought. He had no reason to be afraid of Dorian, it wasn't like Dorian would hurt him.

But maybe he wasn't scared of Dorian. Was someone else threatening Mr. Conner? Dorian was deep in his thoughts, and jumped when Mr. Conner barked out a single word. "Chores!" Dorian knew this was his exit, so he didn't bother telling Mr. Conner that he had already finished his chores.

Dorian headed up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Two other boys were there, hanging out. They must have finished their chores as well. "Hey," Dorian mumbled as he walked to his bed.

"Hey Dorian," one of the boys snickered. "We heard Mr. Conner yelling you out. What for?"

Dorian shot him a glance, wondering why the boy cared. But, then again, any exciting news in this place was found out one way or another, and to them this would be pretty exciting. "Well," Dorian started. He paused, deciding to spice it up a bit. "Mr. Conner caught me and Lacy working together, cleaning the floor," The two boys gasped. Lacy was an 11 year old girl, who was pretty, but not exceptionally noticeable. A good choice to spice up some gossip. She'd laugh when she heard. "After Mr. Conner yelled at us to separate, we went into the closet, and…" Dorian trailed off, letting their imagination wander.

"You guys… hugged?" The younger of the two boys looked apalled. Dorian shook his head, smiling a slightly crooked smile.

The other boy gasped. "_Kissed?_" Dorian nodded, breaking out in a full grin.

"Mr. Conner found us, and he wasn't too happy." Dorian said.

"So that's why he was yelling," the older boy said more to himself. He looked thoughtful. Dorian was afraid he had started something he shouldn't have, but it was too late now.

After a long silence, the younger boy spoke up. "Ew," Was all he said. Then, after another long silence, Dorian decided he was going to go for a walk. He went back down to the front room and walked up to a piece of paper with a feather quill next to it. He dipped the feathered quill in the ink and checked the next open spot on the list. It was a sign-out list. All the orphans had to sign out so that Mr. Conner or one of the other staff knew where they were. In the past week and a half, Dorian was the only one to sign out, and he had done so three times. He picked up the quill and scribbled _Dorian_ under the other _Dorian_'s. Then he wrote where he was going, and the time.

Once he was done, Dorian slipped out the front door, the smell of dirt and alcohol hitting his nose. Dorian walked away from Sharpstone Orphanage, avoiding the muck in the street, and headed towards the business section of the city. The smells slowly turned from alcohol and shit to alcohol and animals (which sometimes is really close to shit) to roasted almonds and sausage. Dorian loved the smell of roasted almonds, and it seemed wherever there were roasted almonds, there was sausage, though Dorian had never actually eaten any roasted almonds. Not fresh ones anyway. Dorian didn't have a job, so he didn't have any money to buy them, but he had seen a spilled bag on the ground, and tried one. He didn't like it, but Dorian figured it tasted a lot better warm, and not off the ground.

Dorian rounded the corner and saw the raosted almonds stand. He just stood there, making sure he was out of the way of the people bustling around the streets in their black overcoats and top hats and their puffed out dresses, smelling the amazing smell of the almonds. The man at the stand handed a small, red and black bag to a tall man. The man turned and saw Dorian. Dorian was prepared to run away, but the man smiled and walked up to Dorian. Dorian backed away, caution pouring out of him.

"I saw you watching," the man said. He looked at Dorian's clothing and said "Have you ever had roasted almonds?"

Dorian hesitated, considering running away. Then he answered, "No,"

"Would you like to try some?" the man offered, holding out the bag. The almonds were steaming and their delicious smell wafted up to Dorian. He glanced at the man, making sure it wasn't a trick. He looked back down at the almonds, slowly reaching into the bag. His fingers brushed the almonds. Dorian jerked back, barely believing what was happening. Then, more quickly, he reached into the bag, drawing out three almonds. He popped one into his mouth. They weren't as good as they smelled, but they still tasted delicious. Better than anything he had had in years. He rolled the almond around on his tongue, savoring the flavor. He bit into it, the almond crunching under his teeth, and a smoky, yet juicy, nutty flavor steamed up into his mouth. He threw the other two into his mouth and did the same. Dorian closed his eyes, savoring the flavor. He had completely forgotten about the man, and when Dorian heard him chuckle, his eyes snapped open, wary once again.

"Good, aren't they?" he said kindly. Then he handed Dorian the bag. Dorian looked down at the steaming almonds when he heard the man say "Enjoy them, Dorian."

Dorian whipped his head up, almost spilling the almonds in surprise, but the man was gone.


End file.
